For over a century, the automobile has represented freedom, power, and the thrill of mechanical mastery. The connection between driver, machine, and road defined what it meant to own and love a car. But in today’s digital era, a different trend is unfolding. Cars are no longer just machines designed to take us from point A to point B. Increasingly, they resemble something else entirely: smartphones on wheels.
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- eleitl@lemmy.zipEnglish7 months
I made sure my last car I bought had no modem in it. This is going to get a lot harder for my next. I will be probably limited to the used vehicles market.
- Horsey@lemmy.worldEnglish7 months
I’m gonna be honest, I want my car to be an iPad on wheels. 120fps, buttery smooth animations, 3000nit brightness 19” vertical panel with CarPlay Ultra.
However, I’d be totally satisfied with the Slate truck model that has an app on a tablet that hooks directly into the truck. That’d be honestly more ideal.
- shirro@aussie.zoneEnglish7 months
Software enables new revenue streams. Manufacturers can lock out features and force people to pay subscriptions. The industry wants to normalize that so they get bigger margins and a source of revenue that extends long after the initial sale. Motor vehicle as a service.
I like controls that don’t distract from driving. Computers without any internet connection aren’t a problem. I don’t mind all the buttons and switches being connected to a micro-controller. It saves a lot of wiring and complexity. While I don’t like screens I can see how they are useful for some people. Ideally you can use a vehicle offline and with the screens off.
- grue@lemmy.worldEnglish7 months
EFI and a radio with a digital tuner does not a “smartphone on wheels” make. This shit didn’t actually start until the mid-2010s.
- 7 months
- Valmond@lemmy.worldEnglish7 months
My car is from 2014, no “smart” crap in it… So I guess it’s to varying degrees. I have the feeling OP isn’t talking about the first ever smart car, but that it’s become ubiquitous.
- 7 months
- 7 months
- Cosmonauticus@lemmy.worldEnglish7 months
I don’t currently drive since I live in a city with great public transit but if i was forced to get a car it wouldn’t be made after 2006. I like buttons and don’t want to spend $400 replacing my rear view mirror because its linked to my touch screen for no damn reason
- 7 months
My radio doesn’t even have a screen 😅
The only computer in my car is the radio, and that stays off most of the time. I’m honestly thrilled to not have so much tech in the car. Its nice to be able to fix nearly anything with some pliers, a multi-meter, and an adjustable spanner.
- 7 months
Nope! Mid 70s MG, carbuereted. As far as I know it has a crank triggered ignition, ergo fully mechanical.
Edit: autocorrect assumed I no longer had this vehicle
7 monthsYes it’s why China was able to leapfrog and become a EV manufacturing giant. They were never able to compete in the traditional ICE vehicle market with the Europeans, Japanese and Americans. Since building an internal combustion engine that complies with the regulation, is fuel efficient and fast is really difficult for them since they lack the century of experience that the other manufacturers have. An electric engine is much less complex and since China has decades of experience building batteries, electronics and software, because they make the smartphones for almost every smartphone brand in the world, they were able to set up shop and catch up to foreign competitors very quickly in the EV market.
